Youth Initiative

The Youth Initiative (YI) seeks to evaluate policies and interventions that can help disadvantaged youth to successfully navigate the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This includes policies to promote integration of youth into the labor force, foster entrepreneurship, enhance life skills, and help youth avoid risky behavior.

About one-fifth of the world’s population is between the ages of 15 and 24, yet they represent a disproportionate amount of the unemployed. YI funds randomized evaluations of programs to help disadvantaged youth successfully navigate the transition into the labor market.

Co-chairs

Funding

Review paper

J-PAL affiliates Marianne Bertrand and Bruno Crépon summarize rigorous empirical evidence on policies aimed at improving outcomes for youth in developing and developed countries, and identify an agenda for future research (March 2013 PDF).